Browsing by Author "Pereira, Henrique"
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- Adaptation of an Emotional Stroop Test for Screening of Suicidal Ideation in PortugalPublication . Esgalhado, Graça; Pereira, Henrique; Silva, PatríciaCognitive instruments, especially those with emotional components, may be useful to address the limitations of self-report scales commonly used to assess suicidal ideation. The aim of this study was to develop an emotional Stroop test for screening suicidal ideation in Portugal. The project was developed in five phases using different samples for each phase. The first two phases were focused on the formulation of the potential words that would compose the slides. For this purpose, five biology teachers (neutral slide) and five mental health professionals (positive and negative slides) were invited to help choose the words that were most representative for each slide. The third phase validated the words defined in the previous phase. In this phase, 300 university students participated (Mage = 21.66; SD = 3.67; 68% female). They rated the words on a Likert scale in terms of their frequency of use, familiarity, level of understanding, and degree of image evocation. In the fourth phase, the researchers developed the complete version of the test, which consists of three slides with neutral, positive, and negative emotional stimuli, consecutively. Finally, in the fifth phase, we validated the final version of the test through a comparative study between a clinical group and a non-clinical group, each one composed by 50 participants (Mage = 32; SD = 9.70; 55% female). Results indicated that the clinical group demonstrated significantly higher scores for depression and suicidal ideation and lower scores for the three Stroop tasks. Words related to negative emotions were strongly correlated with suicidal ideation. Finally, the three Stroop slides explained 74.1% of the variance in suicidal ideation. These findings suggest that this test can be a viable complementary measure in the psychological assessment of suicide ideation, and intervention in the field of suicide prevention in Portugal.
- Affirmative Competence and Practices of Mental Health Professionals with LGB clients: An Ibero-American StudyPublication . Pereira, Henrique; Cunha, Maria João; Monteiro, Samuel; Esgalhado, Graça; Afonso, Rosa Marina; Loureiro, ManuelThere are not many studies about affirmative competence and practices among mental health professionals working with Lesbian, Gay, and/or Bisexual (LGB) clients. Thus, the objectives of this research are to assess the levels of affirmative competence and practices of professionals in Ibero-American countries. The sample consists of 630 mental health professionals from various countries whose ages range from 22 to 75 years old, with a mean age of 41.46 years. The study utilizes the following measures: a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Sexual Orientation Counselor Competency Scale, and the Affirmative Practice Questionnaire. Results show that mental health professionals who present higher levels of Affirmative Competence are those who have higher levels of education and training on LGBT topics, show left-wing political affiliations, self-identify as LGB, and have no religious affiliations. Regarding Affirmative Practices, it was found that single participants show lower practices, and more studies are needed to better understand this result. Regression models demonstrate that Affirmative Practices and Competences are predicted by the hypothesized variables, namely, religious and political beliefs, and training/education. Hence, this study indicates that mental health professionals could undergo some type of academic or professional training and/or possess experience in regard to working with LGB clients, in order to enhance their approach when working with this population.
- Aging Perceptions in Older Gay and Bisexual Men in PortugalPublication . Pereira, Henrique; Serrano, Juan Pedro; De Vries, Brian; Esgalhado, Graça; Afonso, Rosa Marina; Monteiro, SamuelAims and Objectives The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions toward aging among Portuguese gay and bisexual men over 60 years old. Background Despite the growth of the older population, and the increased visibility and acceptance of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in Western countries, the experience of aging in older gay and bisexual men is only beginning to be understood. Design We used a qualitative research methodology, based on critical gerontology, for establishing research questions and to identify the perspectives on the aging process in older gay and bisexual individuals. Methods We used a structured electronic inquiry with 25 gay and bisexual men over 60 years of age from Portugal. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis to help identify repeated patterns of meaning in the data set. Results The recurrent themes in the narratives of the aging experiences of the participants in the study were as follows: positive perceptions of aging, negative perceptions of aging, coping with being a gay/bisexual man and family ties, professional care, homophobia/discrimination, relationships and social support, intergenerational differences, mediating role of sexual orientation, sociopolitical changes, and personal characteristics. Conclusion Analysis of perceptions about the aging process in older gay and bisexual men emphasized the desire for normalization in the social awareness of sexual orientation. It is important to continue doing research on this topic and disseminate this information among professionals who work with older lesbian, gay, and bisexual people so that they may better understand how they can meet the specific needs of this population.
- Children of Single Fathers Created by Surrogacy: Psychosocial Adjustment Considerations and Implications for Research and PracticePublication . Pereira, HenriqueThe existence of single-father families formed by surrogacy is becoming a more visible reality, even though this type of family organization is still perceived with stigma and negative attitudes by more traditional sectors of society, because it raises some concerns regarding the psychosocial well-being of children who are born into single-fathers’ families via surrogacy, and in many cases, to gay single men who wish to become fathers. On the other hand, available research on the psychosocial well-being of these children is still very scarce and limited to a handful of Western countries. Hence, it is of utmost importance to examine studies that explore the psychosocial adjustment of these children. In this mini review, I show that all the studies revised demonstrate the good psychosocial adjustment of these children, and that they are as likely to flourish as children born into traditional families, even if they may find themselves exposed to prejudice and stigma. In conclusion, single fatherhood and surrogacy do not contribute to any adverse consequences to the children’s psychosocial development and adjustment, and there is no observed evidence to why single men, irrespective of their sexual orientation, should not be fathers via surrogacy. Finally, implications for future research and interventions are also discussed.
- Convencionalismo e Sexismo numa População UniversitáriaPublication . Costa, Pedro Alexandre; Pereira, Henrique; Leal, I.Sexismo pode ser encarado como uma forma de preconceito que tem por base uma atitude negativa inflexível contra as mulheres (Allport, 1954). Contudo, esta forma de preconceito não é unidimensionaI. Investigação recente tem revelado que na sua natureza, sexismo se reveste não só de uma forma clássica de hostilidade contra as mulheres, mas também de uma forma mais subtil, caracterizada por uma protecção aparentemente positiva e paternalista a que se chama sexismo benevolente. Estas duas formas de preconceito servem como mecanismos de manutenção de uma desigualdade de género em diferentes contextos (Glick & Fiske, 1997; 2001). Mantendo estas duas formas em simultâneo, os autores Glick e Fiske sugerem que se trata de sexismo ambivalente, defendendo, desta forma, a multidimensionalidade do conceito de sexismo (Glick & Fiske, 1996). [...]
- Depression and Quality of Life in Older Gay and Bisexual Men in Spain and PortugalPublication . Pereira, Henrique; De Vries, Brian; Serrano, Juan Pedro; Afonso, Rosa Marina; Esgalhado, Graça; Monteiro, SamuelThe purpose of this study was to assess levels of depressive symptoms and quality of life in older gay and bisexual older Spanish and Portuguese men and explore associations between these two samples and these variables. Using online surveys, 191 older gay and bisexual men from Spain and Portugal (mean age = 70 years) completed the Spanish and Portuguese versions of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale and World Health Organization Instrument to Assess Quality of Life. Overall, moderate levels of depression and quality of life were found. Gay men and Spanish men report higher levels of depressive symptoms than bisexual and Portuguese men. Gay men score higher on physical health dimensions; bisexual men score higher on the social relationships dimension. Lower levels of physical health, psychological symptoms, and social relationships were significant predictors of depressive symptoms. These exploratory findings offer both similarities and differences between the samples from the two countries-and with U.S. data-and further evidence of the pervasive experience of depression in the lives of sexual minority older men with a renewed awareness of myriad contexts within which individuals age.
- Desenvolvimento da escala revista de ajustamento diádico (RDAS) com casais do mesmo sexoPublication . Costa, Pedro Alexandre; Pereira, Henrique; Leal, I.Com base na Dyadic Adjusment Scale (DAS), a versão reduzida americana Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS) foi mais recentemente desenvolvida com o intuito de avaliar o ajustamento diádico de casais, mais fiável e parcimoniosa do que a original. O objectivo do presente estudo é o de avaliar a validade do modelo multidimensional de três factores da RDAS com uma amostra de 177 casais do mesmo sexo (49% casais de lésbicas e 51% casais de gays) em Portugal. Os participantes completaram a RDAS, a Escala de Satisfação com o Suporte Social e a Escala de Homofobia Internalizada. Os resultados obtidos através de Análise Factorial Confirmatória foram semelhantes aos reportados pelos autores da escala revista. Através da RDAS foi possível discriminar níveis de ajustamento entre casais de lésbicas e casais gays, revelando-se que os casais de lésbicas reportaram níveis de coesão significativamente maiores do que casais gays. Foi também observado a importância de um baixo nível de homofobia internalizada e satisfação com o suporte social para o ajustamento diádico.
- Development of a screening questionnaire for the study of food allergy in adultsPublication . Lozoya-Ibáñez, Carlos; Belo, João; Afonso, Rosa Marina; Pereira, Henrique; Rodrigues, Alexandra; Barata, Luís TabordaBackground & aims: As far as we know, no screening questionnaire has been developed and validated for identification of adverse food reactions in Portuguese-speaking adults, as an initial approach towards the investigation of cases of possible food allergy. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop and validate a screening questionnaire of food allergy in adult Portuguesespeaking patients. Methods: This was a multicentre, cross-sectional study using a simple random sample of 186 adults between 18 and 82 years old from various parts of the centre of Portugal. Intelligibility of the questionnaire was first assessed in 24 patients with confirmed IgE- or non-IgE-mediated food allergy, and in 24 volunteers without food allergies. The 17-item questionnaire was subsequently applied by phone to 78 food allergic patients (66 IgE-mediated and 12 non-IgE mediated) and to 60 non-food allergic volunteers, with subsequent reassessment (re-test). Face and content validity, intelligibility, construct validity, and test-retest reliability (temporal stability) were analysed. Results: Face and content validity allowed item reduction from 30 to 17 items with adequate content validity index >0.78. Construct validity was confirmed in the 66 confirmed IgE-mediated food allergic patients, 12 non-IgE-mediated food allergic patients, and 60 non-allergic patients. Test-Retest Reliability (general temporal stability) of the test had a Spearman correlation coefficient value of 0.845 for the retest. Cohen's Kappa values for the relevant questions were greater than 0.890 for almost all items. No differences were found when sex, age, and volunteers' recruitment origin were analysed. An inverse relationship was found between reliability and retest time interval. Conclusions: Due to the quick and easy implementation, confirmation of face, content and construct validity as well as high temporal reproducibility, this screening questionnaire may be a useful study tool for an initial approach to detection of food allergies in adults.
- Growing Older Out of the Closet: A Descriptive Study of Older LGB Persons Living in Lisbon, PortugalPublication . Pereira, Henrique; De Vries, Brian; Serzedelo, António; Serrano, Juan Pedro; Afonso, Rosa Marina; Esgalhado, Graça; Monteiro, SamuelThere is a paucity of information regarding the needs of older Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) adults in Portugal; to help address this imbalance, this article describes a sample of Portuguese LGB older adults living in the large, urban center of Lisbon. Specifically, the article describes (a) the broad sociodemographic characteristics of LGB 60 years of age or older; (b) the type and level of social support and the nature of interpersonal relationships of these older LGB persons; (c) their physical and sexual health; and (d) the experiences and concerns when accessing social and health-care services, including disclosing their identity to social and health professionals. Across these areas, we further seek to evaluate any differences attributable to gender and compare our results to those in the literature, largely derived from North American studies.
- Healthy Longevity Among the LGBTQIA+ Population: From Neglect to Meeting Their NeedsPublication . Pereira, Henrique; Banerjee, DebanjanThe world is facing rapid population aging. This is associated with an increase in the number of older people from the lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer, intersex, or asexual (LGBTQIA+) community. This population faces unique challenges, including ageism, sexual identity stigma, and self-stigma. The older LGBTQIA+ population are neglected by, and invisible to, healthcare interventions, research, and policy changes. In light of the paradigm shift in healthcare towards a rights-based approach, healthy aging has become an important construct. Healthy aging, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is a “continuous process of optimizing opportunities to maintain and improve physical and mental health, autonomy, and quality of life throughout the life course”. This commentary highlights the unique vulnerabilities of the aging LGBTQIA+ population, advocates the inclusion of their voices at all levels of the healthcare system, and discusses the way forward to enable their ‘healthy aging’.
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